Tonight marks the beginning of Yom Hashoah, “Holocaust Memorial Day.” This year Tuesday, April 29, 2003 corresponds with 27 Nisan 5763, and the twelfth day of the omer. This day was set aside by the Israeli Knesset in 1951 to be observed as Yom Hashoah v’Haguvrah, Day of the Destruction and Heroism. Though the reason for marking this particular day is not known, it is likely that it was specifically place during the omer which is already a mournful period in the Jewish year. One possibility is that it symbolized the fall of the Warsaw Ghetto, just a few weeks after the anniversary of the uprising. In Israel, places of entertainment are closed on the evening of Yom Hashoah.

Many people observe the holiday remembering the six million Jews who were murdered in the Shoah by attending special memorial services or candlelight vigils. With them we should also remember Chasidei Umot Ha-olam, the righteous non-Jews who gave their lives in attempts to save members of the Jewish people.

*This site was created by Anagraztov in 1997 for ThinkQuest, an international High School web design competition.